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| Been and Gone: The British film actress who missed out on fame | Been and Gone: The British film actress who missed out on fame |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Our regular column covering the deaths of significant - but lesser reported - people of the past month. | Our regular column covering the deaths of significant - but lesser reported - people of the past month. |
| But for circumstances, Nova Pilbeam might have become one of Britain's best-known film stars. Born in Wimbledon, she quickly established herself as a rising talent, winning rave reviews for her performance in the film Little Friend, as a child who witnesses her parents' separation. Alfred Hitchcock cast her in his first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, in which her character was abducted by the creepy Peter Lorre. There was a second Hitchcock role in Young and Innocent in 1937, which cemented the mutual admiration between the director and his young protegee. Hitch was keen to offer her the leading role in Rebecca, but her agent expressed concerns about her contract and the part went to Joan Fontaine. She fell for Hitchcock's assistant, Pen Tennyson, whom she married in 1939 but his death in a plane crash seemed to remove any ambition. She made her last film in 1948. | |
| Joyce Bennett made history in 1971 when she became the first English woman to be ordained as an Anglican priest. At a time when the issue of women priests was still dividing the church, she entered the priesthood in Hong Kong where she was the principal of a prestigious Anglo-Chinese school for girls. Born in London, she joined the Church Missionary Society and was sent to Hong Kong where she held a number of teaching posts and took a major role in the life of the community including an appointment as a JP. On her retirement she returned to London where she worked with the sizeable Christian Chinese community but she was not allowed to practise as a priest. It was not until 1994, more than two decades after her own ordination, that, after bitter wrangling, the Church of England finally admitted women to the priesthood. | |
| In the heyday of 1970s disco, the coolest dancers strutted their stuff dressed in the colourful designs of Elio Fiorucci. These included his flamboyant jeans, made from a variety of materials including vinyl and plastic, and all adorned with a logo of two somewhat worse-for-wear cherubs wearing sunglasses. When Lycra was introduced he wove it into his fabrics, creating the world's first stretch jeans. Stars such as Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor and Cher shopped at his colourful emporium in New York where, if trade was a bit slow, he sent two of his prettiest sales assistants to walk round the streets with his distinctive carrier bags, talking loudly about the great clothes they had "bought" in the store. He seldom made clothes bigger than size 10 and shrugged off criticism, claiming he was doing a service to humanity by encouraging women to be petite. | In the heyday of 1970s disco, the coolest dancers strutted their stuff dressed in the colourful designs of Elio Fiorucci. These included his flamboyant jeans, made from a variety of materials including vinyl and plastic, and all adorned with a logo of two somewhat worse-for-wear cherubs wearing sunglasses. When Lycra was introduced he wove it into his fabrics, creating the world's first stretch jeans. Stars such as Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor and Cher shopped at his colourful emporium in New York where, if trade was a bit slow, he sent two of his prettiest sales assistants to walk round the streets with his distinctive carrier bags, talking loudly about the great clothes they had "bought" in the store. He seldom made clothes bigger than size 10 and shrugged off criticism, claiming he was doing a service to humanity by encouraging women to be petite. |
| While Michael Masser had a successful career as a Chicago stockbroker, he long harboured a desire to become a songwriter. Despite not being able to read music, and only a rudimentary piano player, he went on to compose hit songs for some of music's biggest stars. His first big success was Touch Me in the Morning, which Diana Ross took to the top of the Billboard charts in 1971, and he worked with the singer again for the theme to her film Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To), which gained an Oscar nomination. His most successful collaboration was probably with Whitney Houston for whom he wrote The Greatest Love of All, Saving All My Love and Didn't We Almost Have it All. He gained a reputation as a perfectionist, mixing 79 versions of Touch Me in the Morning, until he felt it was completely right. | |
| Olaf Pooley was the oldest living actor to have appeared in both Doctor Who and the Star Trek franchise. It was as the evil Professor Stahlman that he appeared opposite Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor, in the 1970 series, The Inferno, which was the last time a series ran to seven episodes. Much later, when he was well into his 80s, he appeared as a cleric in the 2000 Star Trek Voyager episode, Blink of an Eye. Born in Dorset, he had a long and distinguished career on the stage, as well as in film and television. In 1971 he wrote and produced the horror film, The Corpse, which has since become something of a cult movie. He was also a guest director at the Rada drama school where he nurtured many new and upcoming actors including Anthony Hopkins. A move to the US in the 1980s saw a number of guest appearances on series such as Hill Street Blues and LA Law. | Olaf Pooley was the oldest living actor to have appeared in both Doctor Who and the Star Trek franchise. It was as the evil Professor Stahlman that he appeared opposite Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor, in the 1970 series, The Inferno, which was the last time a series ran to seven episodes. Much later, when he was well into his 80s, he appeared as a cleric in the 2000 Star Trek Voyager episode, Blink of an Eye. Born in Dorset, he had a long and distinguished career on the stage, as well as in film and television. In 1971 he wrote and produced the horror film, The Corpse, which has since become something of a cult movie. He was also a guest director at the Rada drama school where he nurtured many new and upcoming actors including Anthony Hopkins. A move to the US in the 1980s saw a number of guest appearances on series such as Hill Street Blues and LA Law. |
| Eric Wrixton was another figure who, but for quirks of fate, might have become far better known than he was. A keyboard player from Belfast, he was recruited, while still at school, to play with a band called The Gamblers, which was joined by a vocalist named Van Morrison. After rehearsing together the band decided they needed a new name and Wrixton came up with Them, taken from the title of a 1954 sci-fi film. However, just as fame beckoned, his father decided he was too young and refused to sign a contract on his behalf, so he returned to school. He rejoined Them briefly in 1965 but the band were already on the verge of splitting up. After playing in a number of bands he became a founder member of Thin Lizzy but quit due to financial reasons before they released their first recording. | Eric Wrixton was another figure who, but for quirks of fate, might have become far better known than he was. A keyboard player from Belfast, he was recruited, while still at school, to play with a band called The Gamblers, which was joined by a vocalist named Van Morrison. After rehearsing together the band decided they needed a new name and Wrixton came up with Them, taken from the title of a 1954 sci-fi film. However, just as fame beckoned, his father decided he was too young and refused to sign a contract on his behalf, so he returned to school. He rejoined Them briefly in 1965 but the band were already on the verge of splitting up. After playing in a number of bands he became a founder member of Thin Lizzy but quit due to financial reasons before they released their first recording. |
| Among others who died in July were: | Among others who died in July were: |
| Peter O'Sullevan, Veteran BBC commentator dubbed 'the voice of British racing' | Peter O'Sullevan, Veteran BBC commentator dubbed 'the voice of British racing' |
| E L Doctorow, Author of Ragtime & Billy Bathgate | E L Doctorow, Author of Ragtime & Billy Bathgate |
| Omar Sharif, Star of Laurence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago | Omar Sharif, Star of Laurence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago |
| Val Doonican, Genial Irish singer famous for his rocking chair | Val Doonican, Genial Irish singer famous for his rocking chair |
| Nicholas Winton, Businessman who rescued Jewish children from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia | Nicholas Winton, Businessman who rescued Jewish children from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia |
| Wayne Carson, Song writer who penned Always on my Mind and The Letter | Wayne Carson, Song writer who penned Always on my Mind and The Letter |
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